Motorcycles and Realist Painting

  I took my bike out for a ride today and had some more good thoughts about the comparison between realist painting and motorcycles.  The amount of work that goes into the painting process is very similar to motorcycle riding.  When you see someone on a bike, that's the result of months or years of practice, a really difficult process to get a license, motorcycle maintenance, and many other factors.
 Great riders make everything on a bike look easy, but the truth is that riding is very difficult and always unpredictable; even making a simple turn requires a great sense of balance and coordination.  There is also a bond between motorcycle riders that is beautiful, much like the bond between realist painters.  I think the connection has something to do with being different in a way and almost like an outcast.  
 Riding is an art form that is also constantly perfected exactly like traditional painting.  There's no end goal, but the feeling of riding and painting is the ultimate reward.  I really love painting simply for the feeling and sensations of oil paint.  There's a specific smell that the motorcycle leaves on me when I'm done riding, much the same way oil paint has a specific smell.  I always get a lot of thinking done when I ride and when I paint and I'm thankful every day that I get to do both.